From the Publisher: Upon Reflection

As we mark the four-month anniversary of our acquiring Cayman Free Press, which includes the Caymanian Compass, we want to revisit a policy change we announced soon into our stewardship.

Specifically, we put into place a new “Letters to the Editor” policy that prohibited the publication of correspondence from “anonymous” sources, both in the newspaper and on our website, www.caycompass.com.

The result of that decision, we believe, has led to more responsible commentary and, we are pleased to say, more and more correspondents are stepping forward and “owning their own words.”

At the same time, however, we announced that we would no longer publish letters from elected politicians. Our reasoning was that the “letters page” should be a forum “for the people,” and that members of the Legislative Assembly had numerous channels (our news pages, television, radio, website blogs) through which to communicate their messages and opinions.

However, upon reflection, this policy neither appears “fair” or, in actuality, is fair.There have been times in the past – and there will be more in the future – where this newspaper editorially takes to task elected members by name with whom we may disagree on issues or the manner in which they are conducting themselves in their professional duties.

Simple fairness dictates that we must – and should – open our pages to them for response and, going forward, their letters will be welcome.

Help Wanted

On another subject, we announced earlier this week that we have formed a new “Editorial Department” and are seeking to hire a full-time researcher/statistician to assist in adding depth and breadth to our editorial opinions.

We believe this is a perfect opportunity for a Caymanian who might wish to pursue a career in journalism. It’s especially attractive because no “10 years experience” is required, nor is a portfolio of published articles. It is, however, a “professional post,” meaning that a college degree is required.

However, the main qualities we’ll be looking for are intelligence, diligence, a high degree of self-discipline, and the willingness to work hard.